Two Bills Drive

‘If anybody had told the Bills’ coaching staff that its offense would go into Minneapolis, score 27 points, roll up over 400 yards, commit only one turnover and enjoy an 11-minute-plus edge in time of possession, a victory would have been assumed. But, alas, the Bills didn’t win their second straight game. They didn’t steal back the victory they let slip away to Indianapolis three weeks ago. Instead, Buffalo saw its record slip to 3-4 and its playoff odds grow even longer with barely half a season to go. And the reason is, for the second straight week, the Bills were betrayed by their defense.’

‘The calls to talk-radio stations will be overwhelmingly in favor of keeping Flutie as the starter, even after Johnson returns in two or three weeks. They’ll rave about Flutie’s poise, his command of the offense and his ability to avoid a sack. And, to be honest, they’ll have a point. Flutie demonstrated all of those in a rather remarkable performance. But it says here that if Coach Wade Phillips, who isn’t afraid to make the tough decision (remember he benched Flutie last year before the Tennessee playoff game), will stick to his convictions and return Johnson to the starting position. He has to. Why? Because this team is not attempting to make one last run toward the Super Bowl, as it was two years ago.’

‘The Buffalo Bills had an opportunity to knock off the last of the National Football League’s undefeated teams Sunday, but failed.’

‘The Buffalo Bills almost played a great game Sunday. A couple more of these "almost" games and their playoff hopes are going to be history.’

‘The numbers might say otherwise, but the Bills’ secondary actually held its own with Moss and Carter for most of the game. The defensive backs jammed them at the line of scrimmage to knock them off their pass routes and effectively took away the slant routes, one of the Vikings’ pet plays. Moss and Carter had just one catch between them before each made a 28-yard grab to set up a field goal at the end of the first half. Then came the second half.’

‘At an average of $5 million per season, Flutie is probably the highest-paid backup quarterback in the NFL. Against the Vikings he played like it. He deserved the victory.’

‘Morris rushed for 31 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 39 yards and another score. Bryson, looking more and more comfortable in the backfield, ripped off 72 yards on 11 carries. He added 17 yards on two receptions.’

‘This one falls into the "nice try" category. If Peerless Price hadn’t fumbled after catching a first-down pass with 2:46 left in the game, who knows what would have happened? As it is, the Bills fell to 3-4, deep in the AFC East, and the Vikings are a shaky 7-0.’

‘"I told a lot of the offensive guys that we let them down today," Jones said after the once impregnable Buffalo defense surrendered 18 fourth-quarter points, allowing Minnesota to escape the annoyingly noisy Metrodome with a 31-27 victory, leaving the Vikings (7-0) as the lone unbeaten team in the National Football League. "Early in the season (when the offense was struggling) I kept telling those guys to keep your head up, there’s going to be a time when we’re going to need you, and this was one of those times against an explosive offense like this. "If we had held them to one less touchdown we would have won it, but we didn’t."’

‘If you’ve lost count, that’s two consecutive games of allowing not one, but two receivers to gain 100 yards.’

‘”I don’t think it has to do with winning on the road, it has to do with little nuances of the game,” said Flutie, who started in place of an injured Rob Johnson. “Little, subtle adjustments, little things that come over time with experience. Our young guys played exceptionally well. I don’t think that was a factor, but they will get better as the year goes along.”‘

‘How long is it going to take coach Wade Phillips to realize that the second-best receiver on his team is Jeremy McDaniel? For the second time this season, Price lost a critical fumble late in the fourth quarter, this one coming with the Bills trailing 28-27. Price is supposed to be a big-play player, but he continues to be a huge disappointment.’

‘"We made some mistakes late," said Flutie, who piloted the offense to 406 yards and was sacked only once. "With the explosiveness they have, you can’t turn the ball over."’

‘Despite the most productive day in his NFL career, Flutie and a fired-up Bills offence couldn’t negate big-play Vikings receivers Randy Moss and Cris Carter. "I felt great, it’s like riding a bike," said Flutie, who completed 28 of 43 attempts for 294 yards in his first start this season in place of the injured Rob Johnson. "You jump back on and you go. "But God, we should have won the ball game. We should have found a way to win it and I thought we would."’

‘With the Vikes trailing 27-21 late in the fourth quarter, Moss raced down the left side, got behind two Bills defenders and hauled in Daunte Culpepper’s toss deep in the end zone, deftly tucking both feet in bounds before falling over the dead-ball line. "That is football. I picked that up from watching Cris Carter," Moss said of Minnesota’s other star receiver. "I learned the position of your footing and watching the ball in the air. "Coach (Dennis) Green brought me here to make plays and I’m going to do whatever it takes to help us win."’